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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275896">Flirting with 5 Shots of Espresso Disaster</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomExtra/pseuds/RandomExtra'>RandomExtra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>~Oikage Coffee Shop AU~ [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Bad Flirting, Bets &amp; Wagers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Iwaizumi Hajime Is So Done, Iwaizumi Hajime is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama Tobio is a Good Friend, Kageyama Tobio is a Mess, Kageyama Tobio-centric, M/M, Mentioned Hinata Shouyou, Miya Atsumu is a Little Shit, Miya Osamu is So Done, Not Beta Read, Oikawa Tooru is Bad at Feelings, Oikawa Tooru is a Little Shit, Oikawa Tooru is a Tease, Pre-Relationship, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru, Sad Oikawa Tooru, Swearing, Volleyball Dorks in Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:01:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,476</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275896</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomExtra/pseuds/RandomExtra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Kageyama, shit you’re early,” Iwaizumi said, running a hand through his hair as he looked between the two. </p><p>“Why are you here Tobio-chan?” Oikawa asked, looking him up and down suspiciously. Kageyama was about to speak when Iwaizumi waved a hand in front of his friend’s face. </p><p>“Oi Trashykawa,” He gestured at Tobio’s matching uniform, “It’s him, he’s the new guy,” </p><p>“You’re kidding me?” He sputtered out before leaning on the counter, seemingly in disbelief, “Oh nooo, no, no, no, no, I’m going to have to change my whole schedule! What the fu-” He was cut off by a chop to the back of his head. Kageyama had to stifle a snort at the sound he made in shock. </p><p>Or</p><p>An Oikage rendition of the Coffee Shop AU Trope</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime &amp; Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio &amp; Miya Atsumu, Kageyama Tobio &amp; Miya Osamu, Kageyama Tobio &amp; Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>~Oikage Coffee Shop AU~ [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165478</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anu2020, Haikyuu!! Fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. New Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was way longer than I intended it to be oof. Believe it or not, this was supposed to be a one-shot.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Kageyama got his first job in his 1st year of college he hadn’t really known what to expect. Sure, the woman who ran the small coffee shop had briefed him over the phone of what his duties would be but he’d still been a bit unsure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shop was located inside of a bookstore in the shopping center so it had a small team and usually had some pretty odd hours, but they worked for him and the owner seemed nice so he had decided to try it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he showed up on his first day to get trained by a senior employee and he was surprised but relieved to see a familiar face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kageyama, huh, I wondered if it was you when I saw the roster, it’s good to see you,” Iwaizumi said, walking around the counter to greet him. The shop was pretty empty seeing as it was between rush hours. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Iwaizumi-san, I didn’t know you worked here,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I don’t usually take a lot of shifts but I’m covering this week so I guess I’ll be training you,” He explained before tossing an apron at him, “Come around back, we can get started,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>By the end of the week, Tobio had gotten a hang of his job. He’d struggled with using the machines at first, but with Iwaizumi’s stern but easy to understand corrections he got the hang of it, even if his latte art still looked like a child’s crayon drawing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d always got along pretty well, so the atmosphere was good if a little quiet between customers. He would soon be wishing for that back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had almost been gaining a bit of confidence in his decision to work there when he showed up on his late shift on Friday to see someone he hadn’t seen in years standing at the counter talking with Iwaizumi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah you can tell me about that later, but first I have something to tell you about the new trainee. Listen, it’s-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oikawa-san?” Kageyama called out, making the boy turn around to face him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hair was a little longer and he had grown a bit so he had a few extra centimeters over Tobio. A pair of thin-rimmed glasses sat on his nose and the uniform shirt clung nicely to his chest. Huh, that was new, he’d definitely bulked up a bit since their last meeting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he was definitely staring at him, so he stared back stubbornly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kageyama, shit you’re early,” Iwaizumi said, running a hand through his hair as he looked between the two. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you here Tobio-chan?” Oikawa asked, looking him up and down suspiciously. Kageyama was about to speak when Iwaizumi waved a hand in front of his friend’s face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oi Trashykawa,” He gestured at Tobio’s matching uniform, “It’s him, he’s the new guy,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re kidding me?” He sputtered out before leaning on the counter, seemingly in disbelief, “Oh nooo, no, no, no, no, I’m going to have to change my whole schedule! What the fu-” He was cut off by a chop to the back of his head. Kageyama had to stifle a snort at the sound he made in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop being so dramatic, come on Kageyama you can put your stuff in the back, all three of us will be here until closing and then I’m leaving you with the idiot, it’s his shifts I was covering,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tobio nodded and ducked under the counter to go into the employee area, he dumped his bag into his usual locker and threw an apron over his clothes. As he signed in, he could hear the two talking outside the door, but not quite make it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed, this was going to be a long shift. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it turned out that he was right. Almost immediately after he came out to man the machine and restock the display case, he was making slights at him every time there wasn’t a customer. He retorted whenever he could without anyone else hearing him and he was proud of himself for getting through the whole shift without getting caught by Iwaizumi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, that wasn’t to say they didn’t get caught, but it wasn’t his comment that got them in trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Oikawa’s mutter of ‘whoops’ while purposely knocking into Kageyama as he tried to finish cleaning the crumbs from the bottom of the display case for closing that gave them away. This resulted in a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>thwack</span>
  </em>
  <span> sounding when he hit his head on the top of the case. He reared back scowling at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell? You did that on purpose!” He accused standing up to face the man. Oikawa merely stuck his tongue out at him and didn’t back down. He was about to tangle his hands in his collar and start yelling in his face when Iwaizumi pushed in between them and grabbed them both by the backs of their shirts, dragging them into the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat them down at the small card table and stared at them expectantly. Tobio stared down at his hands, feeling like a guilty kid in the principal's office, not speaking and judging by the relative quiet in the room aside from the humming of the small mini-fridge and the other machines. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, their silence ran down Iwaizumi’s patience, letting expectancy give way to frustration. He let out an exasperated sigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay I’m only gonna say this once because I am an adult and I’ve got shit to do, so listen good,” He said glaring at both of them, irritation clear in his tone, “You guys have to get along if you’re both going to work here. You don’t need to be best friends, I don’t give a crap if you don’t talk once you’re off the clock, but you have to be civil when you’re working. You should be old enough to know that. Your arguing is loud and it’s scaring the customers and keeping you from getting anything done. I’m not gonna be here to cover for you anymore, so act your age and sort out your bullshit, or you’re gonna get fired,” He stated simply, before reaching into his pocket and tossing a ring of keys at Oikawa’s head. He caught it in his lap after they bounced off his forehead, “I’ll finish sweeping up the rest, lock up once you stop fighting like fucking toddlers,” Then he turned grabbed his backpack off the table, and left the room, leaving the two alone in awkward silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So vulgar,” Oikawa muttered, rubbing the red mark blooming on his forehead. Kageyama was quiet, a pinched look on his face. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how to start. Tobio actually didn’t hate this job and didn’t want to lose it, however, his luck when it came to Oikawa seemed to be terrible as ever. Whenever he made the first move, things always seemed to end badly. The last time he’d asked him to teach him to serve flashed through his mind and he bit his tongue, keeping his gaze on the doorway rather than make eye contact with his senior. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The older sighed and looked over at the boy, annoyance lining his features as he tried to reason with himself. After a few moments of deliberation and mental debate, he decided the old rivalry wasn’t worth losing a good job with decent benefits. Plus Hajime had been right, they were being a bit immature and he might’ve taken it a bit farther than he’d needed to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Truce,” He bit out, offering him a reluctant hand. The boy looked up in shock, gaze going from his hand to Oikawa’s face and then back to the hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” He asked, his eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion. Oikawa sighed again and forced himself not to make a sarcastic comment at his ineptness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Truce, I want to keep my job and I’m assuming you do too, so as your senpai it’s my job to be responsible and extend an olive branch,” Kageyama wrinkled his nose at the sentiment but shook his hand stiffly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah okay, truce,” he mumbled, not taking his eyes off of Oikawa as the man stood and stretched with an exaggerated yawn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m going home, you can sit there and stare like a zombie or you can get out too before I lock you in,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right...” Kageyama said, not taking the bait as he slowly got his stuff and headed for the back exit. The last thing he heard before the door shut behind him was a loud:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See you on Monday Tobio-chan~”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Playing with Passion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kageyama has a conversation about the way Oikawa interacts with the customers and ends up in way over his head.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I guess we're really doing this, ready for the plot to kick in?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Thank you for your business,</span>
  <em>
    <span> definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> come again, this place can get boring without pretty girls like you stopping by to keep me company~”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kageyama stifled a groan as yet another girl was sent swooning by Oikawa’s stupid act.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been about a month since they’d started working together and they’d fallen into a tentative rhythm a lot faster than he would’ve expected. They weren’t friends, he couldn’t even say they got along well, but they worked alongside each other fairly effectively only making snarky remarks when things got too slow. Even then, they weren’t as plainly malicious. Kageyama just chalked it up to the other’s constant presence in his everyday life and getting desensitized to his antics and moved on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was because of this shift that he started noticing things about how Oikawa worked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In such a tiny shop it was impossible to do anything without the other employee seeing and often ending up without any other source of entertainment, Kageyama found himself just watching him as he went about his job. It annoyed the other to no end, but his whiny protests only spurred him on.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So he watched on as Oikawa seemed to flirt with every living thing that moved in or around the shop. The only exception to this rule seemed to be him and he found himself grateful for that seeing as it was a very distasteful thing in his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>People tended to just shrug it off or ignore him, but the few who actually took notice or even -gag- </span>
  <em>
    <span>enjoyed</span>
  </em>
  <span> his advances were nearly insufferable. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Most of them were already his fangirls who had somehow figured out where he worked. They would time when they came in to make sure he would be on the register and scowl at Kageyama whenever he was covering for him while he took his breaks. Sometimes he even thought that he did it on purpose to make sure that he would have to take their glares and even rude remarks all by himself. The man found it amusing, but Tobio was more annoyed than anything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t even understand why they would like the guy in the first place, he flirted with almost everyone and faked his way through most conversations, they didn’t know anything about him other than the fact that he was conventionally attractive and good at volleyball. Apparently, that was good enough for them to keep coming back to the store and brushing their fingers with his when they accepted their drinks, hoping for something more to come of the little interactions. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then again, Oikawa didn’t do anything to let them know that they didn’t stand a chance, if anything, he just fueled their manic obsession with his own flirty comments and stupid face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So when the last of the girls finally left for the day, the tinkling of the doorbell finally cutting off their obnoxious giggling he turned on Oikawa, leveling him with an annoyed glare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have to do that every time?” He asked, carefully refilling the napkin dispenser on the counter. Oikawa didn’t even look up from where he was wiping down the espresso machine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Be so obnoxious with them, like the hearts in the coffee and stuff, you obviously don’t mean any of it,” Kageyama elaborated. Tooru chuckled and turned around to face him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohh the flirting? Well, I have to earn my tips somehow Tobio-chan~” He said, fluttering his eyelashes irritatingly. Kageyama wrinkled his nose and shook his head at him. What a cheap trick. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You really are a shitty person, Oikawa-san,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You spent too much time with Iwa-chan, you sound exactly like him. It's creepy,” He deflected, throwing the rag over his shoulders casually, “and it’s Oikawa-senpai to you,”  Kageyama scoffed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah, you wish,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, now Tobio-chan, no need to be so jealous because you could never match my people skills,” He clicked his tongue in that stupid condescending way that made Tobio want to punch the smirk off of his face. They were at work though, so he merely rolled his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone can wink awkwardly and fake a smile,” He retorted, turning back to the counter again and greeting the next customer, planning on ignoring the man for the rest of the day. Once the woman ordered he went back to use the machine that Oikawa had been cleaning and the taller leaned in to whisper into his ear. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you saying </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> could do what I do?” He asked, smirk still firmly in place as Kageyama scowled, but continued working on the drink. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His words were goading and laced with the masterful provocation that he had grown accustomed to. He was clearly trying to get a flustered reaction from him. The tone alone was a clear challenge, all arrogance, and self-importance. What he’d actually said embodied them even more and even if they were a harmless jab…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio was never one to back down from a challenge. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” He replied simply, finishing the order off with an artful swirl of cold whipped cream. His blue eyes were proud and defiant and he didn’t break eye contact until he called the woman’s name and moved to serve her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He ignored the way Oikawa’s eyes burned into his back as he reached out to hand the girl her drink rather than slamming it down on the counter like he usually did. He forced his expression into something less hostile and even mustered up a soft ‘thank you, please come again’ as their hands brushed, making her cheeks go slightly red as she stuttered out a thanks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until he watched her fumble out of the door, clearly flustered when he realized what he had just done. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened and he fought to keep his face in check.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio didn’t know why he did that. He had never done something like that before. Why had he let Oikawa get into his head so easily? And since when did he let him impact his actions? Did the older really hold that much power over-?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, Tobio-chan,” Kageyama turned away from the counter to find Oikawa standing a few feet from him, too close to be ignored, but not quite close enough to be considered infringing on his personal space. “You can’t flirt for shit,” He commented, tapping his chin as if contemplating something, ignoring the way Kageyama silently fumed in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah right, you saw her face,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“True, true she was blushing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she was really into you, she could’ve just been embarrassed to talk to you,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what would count as ‘into’ me? Once I know I bet I can get as many people as you have easily,” Kageyama kept talking even as he internally winced. Oikawa was probably right. He was tall and an athlete and he’d been told that girls like that, but he wasn’t good at words. Talking to people made his head hurt sometimes, he was much better at volleyball, it made a lot more sense. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The stuttering, the blushing,” Oikawa listed, making Kageyama roll his eyes again, so far he was doing alright, “Heart racing, forgetting your own name,” He was leaning forwards for some reason and Tobio bumped into the counter behind him as the man's voice dropped lower and he had nowhere to go. Then he leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Finding an excuse to touch,” He couldn’t help but redden at the proximity, “Tips~” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kageyama scoffed and finally pushed him out of his space. He went easily laughing at the look on the younger’s face. The look in his eye hasn’t changed though. It’s still one part amused and the other part dangerous. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How about this? We keep score of how many people we can successfully flirt with, for…a month?” He suggested throwing the towel over his shoulder. Kageyama screwed up his face in irritation before pausing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“People?” As far as he knew, Oikawa had mainly flirted with girls. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t discriminate,” He said with a wink, making Tobio roll his eyes, “So you in?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How would we even score that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can score each other,” At the raised eyebrow he continued, “I’ll be as impartial as possible,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio sighed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How did he get to this? Minutes earlier he had been condemning Oikawa for messing with people’s feelings and then he’d done the same with some random customer. It hadn’t been serious, but did that make it okay? This competition thing was probably a bad idea. He wasn’t like Oikawa in that way, he interacted with people in a very different way. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa-san I don’t-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, it’s been really boring around here lately, it’ll be fun,” He tried, giving him a pout. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kageyama rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time and opened his mouth to decline, but he was quickly cut off by the older. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Unless you’re too scared you’ll lose,” that annoying smirk was tugging at his lips and he was looking up at Tobio through his long eyelashes, looking way too smug and well...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>...Fuck it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s do it,” Kageyama said before he could think. Oikawa smiled triumphantly and they finally went back to working in relative peace. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they worked they began working out the details.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It would start the next week and they even exchanged phone numbers to keep score. They decided that the game extended to outside of their shifts, but they had to report every encounter over text or during their shifts for it to be scored and count for anything. Oikawa also made him pinky swear to tell the truth before they parted ways. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Standing outside he found himself wondering how the hell he ended up agreeing to this mess of a game. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In his head, he knew the answer, but admitting it was hard. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was just something about Oikawa that got to him. He knew all the right buttons to push to get him to do all the stupid shit that he wanted. It was frustrating, but he was in it already, so he might as well give it his all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa had been right about one thing, work wouldn’t be boring anymore. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so I finished this up and I'll be updating every other day now until I'm done which should hopefully be on Valentine's day if I counted right lol. Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Be Still My Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kageyama isn't doing great at winning the bet and finds some help from some unlikely(unreliable?) sources.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I needed someone for Tobio to interact with and get advice from for the plot and I had so many options and somehow I landed on the Miyas?? I was not expecting this but I am pretty happy with the result, lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>From: Oikawa Tooru at 09:32</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>girl at the store </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>she gave me a free energy drink </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>and complimented my hair  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(¯¯∇¯¯) \/</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>To: Oikawa Tooru at 10:05</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>5</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>From: Oikawa Tooru at 10:07</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>whaaaaaat?!?!!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Σ(T◼️T)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>im still winning tho</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>25 to 18</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>┐(´∀｀)┌</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kageyama scowled down at his phone before turning his attention to his water bottle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Competing with Oikawa in this way was hard. He was a natural flirt and had a lot more experience with it. Tobio would never be like that, but he had been doing better than he’d expected. Still, it hadn’t been enough so far though and he only had a month to overtake him, which in reality meant about 20 more days now. That didn’t mean that he was giving up though. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No, he was going to win and shove it in his face. Or die trying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Tobio-kun, what’re ya pouting for?” A voice came from right behind him. Kageyama didn’t even have to look up. He felt Atsumu grab at his shoulder to examine his expression closer. Tobio shrugged him off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not pouting,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah ya were, what’s this?” He drawled lazily, before snapping forward to lift his phone out of his hand with the skill of a man who grew up fighting with his brother. Sure, Miwa had messed with Kageyama’s stuff a few times, but those experiences in no way prepared him for his stupidly fast movements. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“H-hey Miya-san!” Tobio reached up to grab at it, but for some reason, everyone had hit a growth spurt ahead of him, so he held it out of reach, just above both their heads. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I already told ya to call me Atsumu, asshole I’ve known ya for years now and- ooh who’s Oikawa and what’s he beating you at?” Kageyama glowered and tried to jump for his phone again as Atsumu cackled at him and continued looking at the message. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>”Stop butting into other people’s business, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu called out, his voice robotic as he scrolled aimlessly through his own phone. Tobio figured that the reaction must’ve been instinctual by now, after being around Atsumu all the time in all of his insufferable glory. A towel sat over his head, shielding his eyes from the harsh summer sun and probably obscuring them from his view on purpose.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Osamu had texted him to let him know that his brother would be in town for a month-long training program and offered to meet up to play some volleyball, accepting had been an easy choice to make. Osamu didn’t play as much anymore since graduating, instead focusing on culinary school and his part-time job working a stall in the same mall that Kageyama worked at, but Atsumu truly brought out his competitive streak whenever he was around. Tobio had immediately jumped at the chance. The Miyas were some of the best players he knew and even just messing around casually in the humid park gave opportunities to learn things and try out new skills. Plus Osamu’s company didn’t actually suck all of the time, so that was a plus, even if it meant he had to put up with Atsumu’s shit more often than not.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck off ‘Samu,” The blonde jeered and then turning back to the younger, “Who is he Tobio?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just some guy from work I used to go to school with,” He mumbled, gazing up at his stolen phone and then at the two brothers. Their eyebrows went up as if on cue, the action really exemplifying the similarities between them. Their expressions were nearly identical, with Atsumu’s lip turned up a bit more boldly and Osamu’s eyes a bit wider with genuine curiosity as he slipped the towel back onto his shoulders. It honestly creeped him out sometimes just how the same they were even with all of their differences. There were many moments where their utter oppositeness made his head hurt, but their strange natural way of working in tandem had only emphasized the fact that they were identical twins. Sometimes, he forgot that, but now was definitely not one of those times. They were so in sink without even trying. Creepy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what’s this competition he’s talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a stupid bet that we made,” He tried, receiving two expectant looks as his only response. At this, he rolled his eyes, but continued, “We are supposed to flirt with people and then the other person scores the reaction. At the end of the month whoever gets the most points wins,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wins what?” Osamu asked, skepticism clear in his tone. Tobio fought the urge to roll his eyes again as he turned on the other man with a shrug.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know it’s a dumb game,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well ya don’t seem to be doing so hot a this ‘dumb game,’ ” Atsumu’s voice dropped into a whiney tone that was supposed to mimic Tobio’s dry air. His scowl only deepened, which only spurred him on. He threw an arm around his shoulder and continued, “See whatcha gotta do is-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah don’t listen to him, he can’t flirt to save his life,” Osamu said, pushing the blonde off of Tobio, earning a small huff of thanks as he used his shirt to fan himself. It was way too hot to be hanging all over each other. Atsumu gave out an indignant noise, but it was predictably ignored by both of them, “What’ve ya been doing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio looked over at the darker haired Miya. He was different from his brother, but also the same in so many ways. Still, for some reason, he trusted both of them. And as long as he didn’t listen to Atsumu (Tobio wholeheartedly believed Osamu’s comment about him being terrible at flirting) it couldn’t really hurt, right?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, just- copying what I’ve seen him doing,” Kageyama admitted, glaring at his friends when they laughed. It didn’t work the first day he met them, so it certainly wasn’t working now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well that’s yer problem right there,” Osamu said, unphased, “If I know anything about’cha Tobio-kun, ya don’t fit into other people’s personalities neatly,” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and moved to put his towel into his bag, ”Yer weir- er unique and attractive enough,” Atsumu snickered from his place walking behind them, but Kageyama elected to ignore him, “So use it,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Tobio asked, confusedly. He didn’t know whether or not he should be insulted by the comment. Then again he had called him attractive, but the rest of his spiel hadn’t made much sense. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ya kinda have the whole mysterious, brooding thing to people who don’t know ya,” Tobio blinked. That was news to him, “Work with that and I don’t know just play up yer physical shit, it’ll make it a lot easier than trying to act like someone else,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Huh, that did sound much easier than trying to mimic Oikawa’s overly cheery and flirty demeanor. Just looking at him was exhausting sometimes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All in all, it didn’t sound like too bad of an idea. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you Osamu-san,” He said, getting a light grunt and a shove in response. They were heading back over to the public court now, ready to keep going when Atsumu squeezed himself between them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So ya call him Osamu, but ya can’t call me Atsumu! How’s that fair?” Atsumu whined, pouting at Kageyama. Osamu rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ‘cause yer a shithead ‘Tsumu,” He deadpanned. Atsumu stuck his tongue out at him before turning to Tobio and moving even further into his space. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut yer trap, he loves me,” He barked at his brother. Then he looked to the younger and leaned close enough for Kageyama to feel his breath on his ear, “Don’tcha Tobio~” the lilting words were familiar in a way. They reminded him of Oikawa’s honeyed tone and teasing smiles, only with a rougher, more provocative edge coming from Atsumu. He replaced the meticulously done hair and pale pink lips curving around a winning smile with a smirk and a cheap dye job, but it still managed to send a shiver through him in the middle of the summer heat. He was way too close, but any attempts to back away were thwarted by the brick wall behind him. This is what he gets for walking on the inside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon don’t hold out on me now,” He cooed tucking some of his hair behind his ear and straightening his shirt, letting his warm hands brush the too-hot skin at his waist where his shirt had ridden up, “I just need ya to say it,” he leaned back and looked at him through half-lidded eyes, “I love ya~”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tobio flushed bright red and Osamu groaned from somewhere in front of them. He hadn’t stopped when they had, but at least now he was there to snap them out of whatever the hell was happening. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sh-shut up!” Tobio yelled, pushing him and making him stumble back, cackling all the way. He jogged up and shoulder checked his brother, leaving Kageyama behind to collect himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt a piece of his soul die as he realized that Atsumu Miya had just successfully flustered him. That was embarrassing as hell and he was definitely not going to let that go easily. Ugh, he was never going to hear the end of it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah take that asshole I can so flirt!” He bragged, clearly proud of himself. Then he looked down to fiddle with Kageyama’s phone for a bit. Suddenly, he barked out a laugh, “Whoa what’s this?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What now ‘Tsumu I told ya to-” Atsumu shoved the phone into his brother’s face and much to Kageyama’s chagrin he looked at it with a sudden interest, “Huh,” His dark eyes then turned on Tobio, “Kouhai?” They did the creepy eyebrow thing again only this time, it held an inexplicably suggestive undertone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell are you-?” Atsumu finally gave him his phone back and he went silent, immediately hating himself for not locking it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <b>To: Oikawa Tooru at 10:34</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>i flirted w/ tobio and he blushed lik a virgin  (￣ω￣)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>how many pts do i get???  (˶⚈Ɛ⚈˵)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>From: Oikawa Tooru at 10:34</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Who the hell r u?!?!?!?!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>To: Oikawa Tooru at 10:35</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Miya Atsumu at ur service (v^ー°)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>From: Oikawa Tooru at 10:35</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>?!?!? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>how dare u treat my precious kouhai like that?!  σﾟﾛﾟ)σ</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>give me Tobio-chan back i dont want to talk to u  (⋋_⋌)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>To: Oikawa Tooru at 10:36</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>your?</span>
  </em>
  <span> precious kouhai~ ⊙▽⊙ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know ya were into the possessive type, Tobio-kun,” Osamu deadpanned looking him right in the eyes, with a completely straight face. Atsumu just laughed beside him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nevermind, both of the Miya twins suck, and Tobio is utterly done with both of them. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not me casually bullying Atsumu lol, thanks for reading.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Opportunity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oikawa is feeling a bit down and for some reason, Kageyama feels compelled to help him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay sooo Iwaizumi might be a little OOC for this one but it's just for the plot I love him I swear lol also SPOILER WARNING for time-skip Oikawa, this includes a discussion about his future in volleyball and offers so just be careful if you don't want to know.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Tobio came into work the week after the Miya incident, something had changed. It was like it had broken an unspoken barrier between them and they fell into a new, more open routine. They talked more casually and even their text conversations veered away from just texting back and forth for scoring purposes. Oikawa had taken to sending Kageyama texts when he got bored in class and pictures of cute dogs that he saw when he walked around after learning that he liked them. Kageyama learned that his favorite food was milk bread and that he and Iwaizumi shared an apartment not too far from the mall.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The learning went both ways though. Now Oikawa knew who the Miyas were and how he hung out with them whenever he had time because most of his high school friends were in faraway places and foreign cities. He exchanged numbers with both of them since Tooru and Osamu got along decently, he and Tobio made it a new tradition to go bother him at his stall whenever they shared a break or got off early. Oikawa knew which vending machines sold the milk that he liked and how he still video called with Hinata almost every Friday. He knew how his practices were usually early in the morning and tended to run until the sunset when they were nearing a big game and that Kageyama loved every second of them with his whole being. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The new adjustment was even easier to take in stride this time, and Oikawa became a larger part of his life than he realized. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So when he came in to work on a Friday and didn’t start his usual whining spiel about getting too much work for a student he knew something was up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everything about the man seemed somehow droopier than normal?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Usually, he was all perfectly combed hair and confident movements backed by incredible skill and experience, but today the bags beneath his eyes were visible and he seemed to fidget in place. In between customers when he would usually be going on and on about his weekend plans he was checking his phone and glancing at the door every few seconds. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It puzzled Tobio to no end. He had no clue what could have him acting so strangely, but he didn’t know how to bring it up without upsetting or offending him. Instead of trying that and letting his social ineptitude screw up whatever they had going, he stayed quiet and just tried to subtly take the brunt of the more complicated orders and not give him as much of a hard time as he normally would for messing up the simple ones. He did whatever he could to make his day easier without knowing what was happening and hoped that he would trust him enough to let him try to help. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the end, he didn’t have to ask, because when Iwaizumi came storming in, Oikawa shot right up for the first time during the whole shift. Kageyama turned away from where he stood, washing cups to greet him, but he was already grinding out words before he could even open his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shittykawa, I just want to give you your shit and then get to practice okay? We’re not doing this here,” Iwaizumi said, holding out a little bag to the shorter man. Oikawa frowned and ducked under the counter to stop him from leaving. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon Iwa-chan you didn’t even listen to me!” He said grabbing onto his arm to hold him in place. Iwaizumi took a deep breath. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not kidding Oikawa, later,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you still don’t think I’m being serious?” Oikawa’s tone was different now and he dropped Iwaizumi’s wrist to cross his arms over his chest protectively, “I really need your help here, but you won’t even think about it,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I already told you what I think about it okay. You’ve never lived anywhere other than here your whole life and you won’t know anyone there. You don’t even speak Spanish. You’re rushing into this and you’re not ready, now take your stupid charger and finish your shift, I’ll talk to you later,” Iwaizumi’s voice was somewhat pained as he slammed the bag onto the counter and stomped off, leaving a frowning Oikawa in his wake. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kageyama looked between them confusedly as he tried to come up with something to say.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was weird, despite their usual banter, Iwaizumi and Oikawa didn’t actually fight too much. Even back in middle school, Tobio remembers the way they would get over petty arguments almost instantaneously by offering some sort of peace offering in the form of milk bread or the promise of watching all of the Godzilla movies or whatever worked at the time. The more serious ones were dissolved by simple talks that worked themselves out pretty well. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He remembered wishing that he could have that kind of friendship with someone. An understanding that could be relied on and trusted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then again, they were all much older now, and their issues had become a lot more complicated, but even then, that wouldn’t explain why their usually dependable communication seemed to be failing them at the moment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, Oikawa-san?” Brown eyes turned on him, still clouded by several indecipherable emotions, “I- uh- are you okay?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Internally Tobio cursed. The words fell from his mouth, awkward and foreign. He really was shit at this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa blinked a few times at the question before his lips went up and he waved a dismissive hand at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, fine Tobio-chan don’t worry,” He said, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes and it was a strange development, but he found that he noticed and it made him feel...off...or like something was wrong somehow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure? That was tense,” Tobio was dimly aware that he was probably pushing the boundary of their already kind of precarious friendship, but at the moment he didn’t care. If something was wrong he wanted to help and once he set his mind on something, he tended to get a bit tunnel-visioned.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A heavy silence fell while Oikawa froze, his smile still in place, but his eyes far away. Finally, his expression dropped and he leaned back against the counter, not looking at Tobio. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I...don’t know honestly,” He sighed out, “That’s the problem,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” Kageyama asked, turning off the sink to give him his full attention. Oikawa let himself slide down the back of the counter until he was sitting on the floor, facing Tobio now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I got scouted by a professional team in Argentina,” He explained, his voice low as he pulled his knees to his chest. Kageyama paused, his expression varying from confused to proud. The unenthusiastic tone had really thrown him off, but it was still quite the accomplishment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What really? That’s a good thing, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah I thought so too but Iwa-chan...” He trailed off and pursed his lips together, “Iwa-chan doesn’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t even think I’ve really gotten to process everything yet,” A dry chuckle filled the air, “He’s usually the one I go to, to talk about this stuff and now he keeps shutting it down and I’m just conflicted,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you want you can talk to me about it,” Tobio blurted out, thoughtlessly. It just came out on its own, yet another mindless slip up on his part, “N-not if you don’t want to but I-” He forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. He needed to calm the hell down. “If it helps I can listen,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa huffed out a small laugh, his lips twitching up. He rubbed a hand across his face. He looked exhausted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know I might take you up on that offer, Tobio-chan,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So he did in a way. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Between customers, they talked. Some of the most open and honest admissions that Kageyama had ever heard from Oikawa. He learned the details of the phone call he’d gotten and the initial elation it had brought. Iwaizumi’s less than supportive reaction threw Tobio a bit, but he was soon far more occupied with the insecurities and doubts overflowing from pretty pink lips as the conglomeration of conflicting emotions swirled through the elder setter’s head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He talked and Tobio listened until they had long since finished cleaning up and closing time had come and passed minutes and minutes ago. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, they ran out of dumb excuses of tasks to let them stay, so they made their way out the employee exit and walked together down the dark street. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They stopped under the glow of the streetlights once they hit the part where their routes separated. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah well- um,” Oikawa started, fiddling with his scarf as he turned to face Tobio, the lamplight painting his pale skin a light gold, “Thank you, for letting me talk,” His voice was softer now and Tobio swallowed thickly, “It really helped and at least now I have my thoughts organized a bit better for when I get back and Iwa-chan scolds me,” He huffed out a humorless laugh at the mention of his impending argument. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh you’re welcome,” Kageyama said, his tone suddenly awkward as he forced his gaze back up to his senior. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have a good night, Tobio-chan, I’ll see you next week,” He said, offering the boy a smile before turning to head down the street towards his train stop. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he watched his retreating back, something shifted in Tobio. He couldn’t stand the idea of letting the conversation end the way it did, with Oikawa still thinking that he was wrong to want something bigger. To do better and be even greater. It was a desire that he knew well. The way it hummed through his veins the moment he stepped out on the court was both exhilarating and overwhelming a way he’d grown to crave. Kageyama couldn’t dream of giving it up or stopping for anything. So much like he couldn’t help the way he was drawn to competition and volleyball, he couldn’t help the way he took a few steps after him and called out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa-san,” at the sound of Kageyama’s voice, he stopped in his tracks and turned around, an eyebrow raised in confusion, “Sorry if this is intruding, but,” Tobio took a deep breath and pulled his eyes up to Oikawa’s, blue locking brown in place with their casual intensity, “If you really think this is a good opportunity for you, I think you should go for it,” the honest words spilled from his lips easily, like a water rushing over the edge of a cliff, the waterfall roaring with untold beauty and fury, “You’re more than talented enough and very capable,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa blinked, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to process the words. He let out a quiet laugh and shook his head slightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>”I’ll keep that in mind,” he murmured, a slight smiling gracing his features, all soft lines and curious eyes, “Thanks again Tobio,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then he turned and started off again, but Tobio didn’t stop him this time, satisfied, but at the same time, unsatisfied somehow?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he watched him go, that something in his chest was fluttering again, sending his thoughts into a tempestuous spin and warming his face more than he’d like to admit. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Had he actually enjoyed talking to him?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So like after all of this shit I kinda imagined Oikawa going back and they have a serious conversation and Iwaizumi apologizes bc he was being overprotective and shit and he really just wants him to be okay and Argentina is really far. then they have a serious talk and they're all good (if I ever feel like exploring their friendship in this more maybe I'll write this lol)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Shift</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kageyama and Oikawa are working together and their game comes back in a way neither of them would've expected.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sooooo here we go I guess, buckle up team this is chaotic with the added bonus of a lot of gay panicking and maybe a special guest...again.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After that night, that something in his chest hadn’t gone away. Instead, it had strengthened and Tobio found that he was done with these endless changes pulling the ground out from under him as soon as he thought he was beginning to understand their relationship and how they were meant to interact. He’d never been more confused or conflicted in his life and it was even making him sloppier at his job, which was frustrating in its own way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now whenever he was on shift, he kept getting distracted by little things he was noticing about his uh- coworker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like the way he figured out the difference between Oikawa’s fake smile and his real one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The former was incredibly posed and flawlessly mischievous, almost a smirk, he used it to flirt with his customers all the time. Tobio found that he enjoyed the other one more, it was crooked and imperfect and genuine and he wore it when he talked about his friends or volleyball or things he was really interested in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He noticed how when he got bored, he doodled little stars onto cups that grew into magnificent galaxies raging across the paper. The simplistic style betraying the utterly fascinating details by overshadowing the masterful knowledge with childlike strokes. Suns, moons, stars, and planets lived and respired and Tobio couldn’t help, but be fascinated by the life the man seemed to breathe into everything he touched. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also noticed how his hair had grown since high school and now it was long enough to constantly fall into his eyes when he worked, prompting almost constant annoyed sounds and grumblings about how he needed a haircut. He also never booked an appointment for it, but Tobio didn’t mind. It suited him and the idea of that soft hair getting changed in any way made a pout grow on his face. Not that he knew it was soft. He’d never gotten to touch it or anything it was just- it looked like it would be soft and it always smelled nice and Oikawa was definitely the fussy type about hygiene so it would make sense and why the hell was Tobio thinking this far into this?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really was hopeless. They were just friends or um whatever they were, it wasn’t like that. Oikawa would never see him like that so he needed to just focus on…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shit, what was he doing again?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Tobio-chan~” That voice purred from behind him, Tobio recognized it and blinked dumbly, bringing himself back to the present. He was holding the broom and dustpan and standing in front of the espresso machine, staring down at the small mess for who knows how long, “Are you going to keep pouting at the grounds you spilled, or are you sweeping them up? The shift’s not over yet, we can’t have the customers seeing this mess,” The man chided, emphasizing his point with a light jab to Kageyama’s side. The younger jumped and shot a glare at him before kneeling to actually clean it up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, I’m doing it,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, because you’re on the register, I need to check my phone. I swear if my professor didn’t update my grade I’m going to lose it,” Kageyama rolled his eyes, but he tossed the dustpan and stood up just in time for a customer to come in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a girl this time, which he’d found to receive his flirting better than guys, so he greeted her kindly and made an effort to make more eye contact than he normally would. As he made her drink, some fruity thing that he couldn’t stand, he looked up at her every so often, making blush slightly when she caught him staring. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he finished her drink he walked over to the counter, not dropping her gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” He asked, leaning on the counter to close even more of the distance. She blinked owlishly, her eyes scanning him up and down, his height probably intimidating her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh- what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your name,” When she didn’t say anything he showed her the marker in his hand, making her blush worsen, “For your cup?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh-uh I’m Yui,” She laughed a bit brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hummed and leaned down to scrawl it on the label. When he looked back up through his bangs he found her staring at him and he raised an eyebrow at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she apologized through her stuttering, he let a playful smirk cross his lips. He reached out to pass her the drink, keeping his usual step of brushing their fingers together unnecessarily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have a beautiful smile, Yui,” He said, before turning around and occupying himself with wiping down the machines now too completely enraptured with the fact that Oikawa was standing in the doorway to the back watching them with his arms crossed to even hear her small thank you as she rushed out.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh 7,” He mumbled, looking unimpressed as he pushed off the wall to come stand next to Kageyama, “And I got a 98 on my essay, by the way, go ahead and gawk, I won’t blame you for being so simple-minded in comparison to my genius,” He made an obnoxious face and Tobio huffed. In his unimpressed state, he looked away and his eyes fell on the main machine. It was almost out of filters, so he leaned down to grab some new ones rather than feeding his ego. In response to his silence, Oikawa practically squawked in indigence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Ignoring me! Tobio-chan come on what do I have to do to get your attention?” He leaned down into Kageyama’s space getting in the way, “Bat my eyes at you like that girl,” At yet another obnoxious expression, Tobio glared and tried to reach around him, “No, no, that’s much too boring for someone like you, huh,” The younger sat back on his heels, his face screwing up in confusion. What did that even mean? “How about we switch roles then?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are you talking about?” Kageyama asked, standing up and glaring down at him, arms crossed over his chest and blue eyes clouded by his strange speech. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be the bad guy with the heart of gold and you can be the innocent soul that I corrupt huh?” The taller stood too, forcing him to look up as he took a step towards him. His grin was different now, more playful and mischievous. They really needed to stop doing this, it wasn’t good for Tobio’s heart or his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That smile wasn’t really for him, he was just screwing around. For some reason, this was happening more and more often now and it wasn’t helping whatever he was feeling for the boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“S-stop being stupid, Oikawa-san,” He barked, taking a few steps back as Oikawa effortlessly made his way closer to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He mentally cursed himself for the stutter in his voice. He might be too close, but Kageyama had to get a hold of himself. Surely, he had more self control than this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or maybe I’m the cool dude who takes pity on the nerd and shows you how to stop being so uptight?” Oikawa taunted, flicking Tobio in the side of the head, but the boy just took a deep breath, electing to ignore it in favor of dodging around him and moving to wipe down the counters again. If it was more aggressive than normal he couldn’t be blamed. His coworker was infuriating in more ways than one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need to be so hostile,” The older laughed before tapping his chin thoughtfully, “Plus that one wouldn’t really work anyway, you’re shit at school,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oi!” Kageyama yelled, whipping around on instinct. He was immediately proud of himself for stifling the little squeak that threatened to climb up his throat at just how close the older man was to him now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or maybe I could pick up where you left off with that girl huh? All broody and cocky and shit,” he smirked and then dropped his voice in a poor imitation of Kageyama’s voice, “You have a beautiful smile,” Pretty brown eyes rolled, unable to take himself seriously, “Really Tobio-chan? Was that the best you could think of?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve said the same thing a gazillion times to a million different girls,” Kageyama countered, refusing to back down. He didn’t even flinch when Oikawa leaned in even closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First of all, those numbers don’t even make sense,” He commented and then his eyes narrowed and suddenly Tobio was feeling like prey under his steady gaze, “And second if you’re gonna do it, at least do it right,” A firm grip on his shoulders shoved him stumbling back into the machine and this time he couldn’t stop his little gasp. The cold metal was pressing into his back and he was close enough to see the little freckles dotting the bridge of Oikawa’s nose, so he was more than a little dumbstruck, “Tobio~” He purred and at his tone, the younger tried to drop his head and look away, but a warm, well-manicured hand under his chin stopped him, “You look so pretty when you smile,” Maybe it was the tiny distance between them, or the tone, or the intimacy of his words, but he just couldn’t help himself. His heart rate picked up, any retort that he had died in his throat, and heat rushed to his face, “I wish you’d do it more often...” his voice started in his confident tone before something seemed to shift in his expression and he trailed off. Then his eyes drifted up to Tobio’s eyes and maybe the younger had just imagined it in his flustered haze, but they also seemed to dart down to his lips and then come back up. He didn’t make a move to back up and Tobio didn’t dare to move even an inch. Then he licked his lips and the flash of pink was messing with his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The eye contact was intense and it stole his voice and held him in place, leaving him just enough space not to suffocate under the pressure. It was exhilarating and terrifying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then his eyelids fluttered a bit and he leaned in ever closer. The air between them was charged and the pull was magnetic as he looked up at Oikawa.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was he- is- is he going to- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>~Brrrrring~</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The jingling of the doorbell had them jumping apart as a customer strolled in, luckily -or unluckily- too engrossed in his phone to realize what he had just walked in or and interrupted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kageyama’s face was on fire as he stumbled up to the register. Behind him, Oikawa mumbled some lame excuse to escape to the back as the man walked up. Tobio was far too out of it to call him on it, so he simply stuttered out the man’s total and tried to get through his order without combusting. Once he finally grabbed his poorly made macchiato and left, Kageyama literally sagged against the counter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm his racing heart. Every time he got close the intense look Oikawa gave him kept flashing through his head and then he was back to where he started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he actually took a step back to rethink the situation in an attempt to regain control before the other man came back and it proved to be a big mistake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, shit, he liked Oikawa. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>like</span>
  </em>
  <span>-liked Oikawa in a very non-platonic way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>screwed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The door slammed shut behind him and Tooru couldn’t help the way he fell back into it, sliding down to sit on the dirty floor. He was probably screwing up his pants, but at this point, he was too stunned to care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What the actual </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> just happened?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...And why did he enjoy it so much?</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, come again soon,” Osamu said politely, watching as the latest customer took their bag and walked away to go enjoy the greasy food somewhere else in the hellhole of a mall that he worked in. Once he was sure they were out of his sightline, he leaned on the counter lazily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The job was pretty slow, but it paid well enough so he spent most of his off days wasting away in the tiny booth, mercifully on his own. It didn’t suck, but it still bored him most of the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was leaning down to pick up his book from its hiding place below the counter for when his phone went off, twice almost simultaneously. He frowned down at it in confusion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most of his friends knew that he was working and they wouldn’t text him on the job even though they knew he wasn’t too invested in it. He still took work seriously and tried to refrain from using his phone while clocked in. The book was more forgivable and wasn’t as all-consuming or distracting so he excused it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked around to make sure no one was looking and then took it out of his bag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the..?” he mumbled as he unlocked it and noticed the messages were from Tobio and then his coworker Oikawa separately, but also at almost exactly the same time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He supposed it wasn’t too unusual, they came to “visit” him unsolicited sometimes and he had to admit that it made some of the more dull shifts more bearable even if he got a slight lecture from his coworkers about their glorified loitering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened Kageyama’s first, seeing as they were closer and if something was happening, he would definitely be a lot more to the point about it. His other friend had more of a way with words, often dancing around topics and pandering to other people a lot more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>From: Kageyama Tobio at 18:21</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Osamu-san, please help. I think I like Oikawa-san and he might’ve almost kissed me after flirting with me. I don’t know if it was real or just a part of the bet. If he finds out he’ll hate me again. What do I do?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Miya huffed at the message. He didn’t usually get many long-winded rants from Kageyama and they definitely didn’t feature the sheer panic that was coming through his text. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After reading Tobio’s, he had an idea of what Oikawa’s message would be like, but out of curiosity and boredom, he opened his too and laughed out loud at the contents. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>From: Oikawa Tooru at 18:22</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Hey, Miya-kun! It’s been a while haha, I just wanted to ask you if Tobio was single since we don’t really talk about that stuff, y’know? It’s not that it really means anything to me personally, obviously. I was just curious as his senpai, haha, gotta watch out for him </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head good-naturedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Tobio had brought up their strange bet and then the two had first come to visit him on their breaks he’d had some suspicions about the nature of their relationship but had decided to keep his questions to himself after seeing the state of denial they had somehow managed to delude themselves into. Kageyama was adamant that they were barely friends and neither Atsumu nor Osamu had believed him after comparing notes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh well, at least he got to sit back and watch as they hopefully figured their shit out. If not, he might be forced to intervene and even Osamu didn’t have confidence that getting through to either of them would be easy. They were both really oblivious and stubborn when they wanted to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed and pulled up a different contact. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Osamu wasn’t in the practice of feeding into his brother’s meddling habits, but Atsumu would definitely get a kick out of this, and Tobio might actually need his influence this time. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, that's it...for now? This is what I meant originally like this was supposed to be a concept for like a one-shot and it would be done, (that obviously was not how it worked out this shit is so long) but I might expand on it? Idk yet, but technically the bet isn't over and there are still plenty of opportunities for flirty shit, plus they are still a mess relationship-wise so I think I'll keep working on this, it'll be a little bit before I'm close to done with it tho so stick around if you want to see that. Thank you so much for reading!</p><p>[Edit] So I have worked on starting a follow up for this, but it's gonna be a lot longer :') so it's gonna take a bit, for now, I posted an in-between chapter (4-5) with Iwaizumi and Oikawa so you can check that out in the meantime if you want.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was thinking if I find the time maybe I’ll make something to follow this up bc it was really fun to write. Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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